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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.2.27

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 2: Grief becomes the first śloka. A bird’s death moves Vālmīki to utter the first śloka, Brahmā asks him to compose Rāma’s life in that form

In the sequence: still absorbed in the birds' suffering, he repeats the verse. Brahmā confirms that it is a śloka and says that speech arose through his will

1.2.27

pāpātmanā kṛtaṃ kaṣṭaṃ vairagrahaṇabuddhinā
yas tādṛśaṃ cāruravaṃ krauñcaṃ hanyād akāraṇāt

“A cruel deed was done by that evil-souled one, his mind set on malice, who would kill without cause such a sweet-voiced krauñca —

Words: pāpātmanā — by the evil-souled one; kṛtaṃ — was done; kaṣṭaṃ — a cruel, grievous (deed); vairagrahaṇabuddhinā — his mind bent on seizing enmity; yas — who; tādṛśaṃ — such a; cāruravaṃ — sweet-voiced; krauñcaṃ — krauñca bird; hanyād — would kill; akāraṇāt — without cause

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki, the ādikavi of the ādikāvya: the first poet of the first poem. Sanskrit: The Vālmīki-Rāmāyaṇa: Critical Edition, Oriental Institute, Baroda, 1960–1975 (gen. eds. G. H. Bhatt, U. P. Shah); IAST from GRETIL (Göttingen). Translation and word glosses: Claude Opus 4.6–4.7; summaries and sequences: ChatGPT Astra (machine-made). Numbering follows the Critical Edition, not the vulgate (e.g. Gita Press, valmikiramayan.net), so sarga and verse numbers can differ from those editions.